Blogs

Our blogs provide fresh, impassioned and authoritative commentary and insight about the variety of civil-liberties issues that the ACLU of Michigan takes up each day in our courts, governments and communities.

Get Involved

With the help of dedicated volunteers and community activists, the ACLU of Michigan works to raise awareness about the importance of preserving the individual rights and liberties that are guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

Get Help

The ACLU of Michigan is one of more than 50 affiliates in the United States. As such, we encourage you to know as much as possible about your civil liberties. Further, if you feel those liberties have been violated, we suggest you submit a complaint. We only accept complaints that occur within the State of Michigan. If your complaint arose in a state other than Michigan, you must contact the ACLU office in that state.

About Us

Since our founding in 1920, the American Civil Liberties Union has led the fight to conserve our most precious liberties. Through the passion of our supporters, we have grown from a roomful of civil liberties activists to an organization of more than 500,000 active members and supporters with 54 state affiliate offices as well as a legislative office in Washington, DC.

Free Speech

Freedom of speech is protected in the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights and is guaranteed to all Americans. As a core founding principle, free speech has a long history in America. Safeguarding this cherished freedom is the ACLU’s ongoing commitment. Since 1920, the ACLU has worked to preserve our freedom of speech.

ACLU Asks Federal Court to Order Michigan Board of State Canvassers to Place Promote the Vote on November Ballot

2018-08-29 00:00:00

The ACLU of Michigan and Promote the Vote (PTV), filed a complaint in U.S. District Court asking that the PTV ballot initiative, a measure to expand voting rights in Michigan, be placed on the November 6th ballot. This follows the State Board of Canvassers and Bureau of Elections failure to properly validate the petition signatures PTV was required to gather to place the initiative on the ballot. By failing to certify these signatures, the state has violated the voting rights of Michigan citizens who support the PTV initiative.

ACLU Urges Utica School to Rescind Ban on Political Signs at Student Protests and to Apologize to Suspended Gun Reform Advocates

2018-04-16 00:00:00

Today the ACLU of Michigan sent a letter to Utica Academy for International Studies urging school officials to rescind a rule barring students from holding “political” signs during demonstrations against gun violence. The letter also encourages the principal to apologize to students who were suspended after displaying gun reform signs at the March 14 protest, and to honor students’ free speech rights during future protests.

Open Letter to Juggalos: Gang Case Accomplished Many Goals

2017-12-19 00:00:00

The ACLU of Michigan disagrees with the U.S. Court of Appeals decision yesterday dismissing our challenge to the FBI’s designation of Juggalos as a gang. Nonetheless, we are proud of what the case accomplished and we were honored to represent the Juggalo family.

Basic Facts About Michigan's Sex Offender Registry

2017-09-27 00:00:00

In 2006 and 2011, the state legislature expanded the Sex Offender Registration Act (SORA), originally passed in 1994, creating harsher measures for registrants. The amendments retroactively made most registrants register for life and imposed geographic exclusion zones barring them from living, working, or spending time with their children in large areas of every city and town.

DOES V. SNYDER I: Frequently Asked Questions

2017-09-27 00:00:00

In 2006 and 2011, the Michigan state legislature expanded the Sex Offender Registry Act (SORA) originally passed in 1994, creating harsher measures that imposed geographic exclusion zones barring registrants from living, working or spending time with their children in much of the state; imposing extensive reporting requirements; and automatically extending registration to life without due process and without a mechanism for review or appeal for the vast majority of registrants.

ACLU of Michigan 2017 Board Election Ballot

Blog: Independence Day Parade Reflects the Many Faces of Democracy

2017-07-07 00:00:00

By Kelly Ehrenreich

Sixty ACLU members, volunteers and staff represented the ACLU of Michigan in the Ann Arbor Independence Day parade earlier this week. Marching through streets lined with rows of people of assorted ages, races and political stripes, we chanted over and over, "This is what democracy looks like.”

And as I joined that walk through Ann Arbor, I realized just how true that chant rang.

Billboards In Arabic, English, and Spanish Intended to Remind the Public That ‘We The People’ Means Everyone

2017-06-05 00:00:00

In an effort to remind the public about its First Amendment rights and to reassure immigrants that constitutional protections extend to them as well, the American Civil Liberties Union of Michigan on Monday launched a public-education campaign that features the First Amendment printed in Arabic, Spanish and English.

The “We the People” campaign rolled out with the unveiling of an electronic billboard featuring the First Amendment in all three languages posted on Cobo Center in downtown Detroit. The ad will appear on the billboard throughout June.